UK police arrest man via automatic face-recognition tech

Camera-equipped van in South Wales apparently spotted man whose face was in database.

Automatic facial recognition (AFR) technology has been used to arrest a man, the South Wales Police told Ars.

While AFR tech has been trialled by a number of UK police forces, this appears to be the first time it has led to an arrest.

South Wales Police didn't provide details about the nature of the arrest, presumably because it's an ongoing case.

Back in April, it emerged that South Wales Police planned to scan the faces "of people at strategic locations in and around the city centre" ahead of the UEFA Champions League final, which was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on June 3.

On May 31, though, a man was arrested via AFR. "It was a local man and unconnected to the Champions League," a South Wales Police spokesperson told Ars. It's not clear whether this was due to the technology being tested ahead of the match.

We're told that there was a warrant for the man's arrest, but the spokesperson declined to provide any further details about the suspect. We know from the request for tender published by the South Wales Police, however, that the man's face was probably included in the force's "Niche Record Management system," which contains "500,000 custody images."

Further Reading

South Wales Police are using hardware and software provided by NEC, which has been working on real-time facial recognition tech for a few years now and has been the technology partner for other UK police trials. It isn't clear how the AFR tech is set up: whether all of the tech and the database of custody images are stored in the van, or if there's a central server that multiple vans (and eventually police cars and police body-worn cameras?) can connect to.

South Wales Police have previously said that they are serious about deploying automatic facial recognition tech on a wide scale. "The world we live in is changing and with that comes a need to change the way we police. We are investing in ensuring our officers have the tools and technology needed to most effectively protect our communities. As technology evolves into the future, so too will the way our police force operates," said assistant chief constable Richard Lewis.

Further Reading

In the same statement, the police force turns a little more towards pre-crime. South Wales police and crime commissioner Alun Michael said: "Our approach to policing is very much centred upon early intervention and prompt, positive action; the introduction of facial recognition helps to support these aims by allowing us to identify vulnerability, challenge perpetrators, and reduce instances of offending within environments where the technology is deployed."

Sebastian Anthony
Sebastian is the editor of Ars Technica UK. He usually writes about low-level hardware, software, and transport, but it is emerging science and the future of technology that really get him excited. Emailsebastian@arstechnica.co.uk//Twitter@mrseb